Hungry cats: The Bengals (11-5) are in the playoffs for the third year in a row with Marvin Lewis as the coach, Andy Dalton as the quarterback, receiver A.J. Green as the top playmaker, Mike Zimmer as the defensive coordinator and Jay Gruden as the offensive coordinator.

The next step is to win a playoff game. Cincinnati is 0-4 in the playoffs under Lewis with losses the last two winters, and Cincinnati's 22-year run without a playoff victory is the NFL's longest ongoing. Sam Wyche was the head coach and Boomer Esiason the quarterback the last time the Bengals won a playoff game, in January 1991. The opponent, the Houston Oilers, no longer exists.

Favorites: Oddsmakers make the Bengals a 7-point favorite to beat the Chargers on Sunday. The kickoff, at 10:05 a.m Pacific Time, comes in Paul Brown Stadium, where the Bengals are 8-0 this year.

Surface: All 10 road games the Chargers have played this year, including two in the preseason, were on a grass field. Cincinnati plays its home games outdoors, but the synthetic turf is the same as in the domes that are home to the Vikings and Saints. Last year the Chargers played in those domes, beating the Vikings 12-10 in the preseason and losing to the Saints 31-24 in Game 5.

Beating the Chargers: Cincinnati has defeated the Chargers three consecutive games, each time in December. The streak began in 2010 with a 34-20 victory in Cincinnati, eliminating Norv Turner’s team from the playoff picture. Overcoming a pick-6 of a Dalton pass, the Bengals won in San Diego last year 20-13, and returned on Dec. 1 to beat Mike McCoy’s team 17-10, while holding the Chargers to their lowest point total of the year.

Declining health: The Bengals have lost several players to injuries since leaving San Diego with the Game 12 victory. Terence Newman, their top cornerback and a B+ performer in the victories over the Chargers in 2012 and 2013, suffered a knee sprain in Game 13 and hasn’t returned. Newman would be “lucky” to play in the playoff opener, former Chargers doctor David Chao wrote in a Tweet four weeks ago, if the injury required a ligament “immobilizer.” The Steelers broke the jaw of punter Kevin Huber, ending his season in Game 14. Injured in Game 15, starting tight ends Jermaine Gresham (hamstring) and Tyler Eifert (stinger) sat out the finale.

Pro-Chargers development: The Bengals' win last Sunday over the Ravens didn’t improve Cincinnati’s playoff position and helped the Chargers in two respects: 1) it denied Baltimore the AFC’s final playoff spot that San Diego won later in the day by beating Kansas City, 2) injuries struck several Bengals players (afterward, Lewis cut short his postgame comments in an apparent move to limit injury-related information). Along with ending the seasons of blocking tight end Alex Smith and reserve defensive tackle Devon Still, the injury barrage sidelined center Kyle Cook, slowed left tackle Anthony Collins and put left guard Andrew Whitworth in a walking boot after the game. All three played well against San Diego, especially Whiworth, a Pro Bowl tackle who moved to guard during the game and dominated as a pull blocker.

One-and-done: The Bengals were the underdog in three of the four playoff losses under Lewis. The Steelers beat them as a 3-point favorite in the 2005 playoffs, and the Jets won as a 2.5-point underdog four years later. Both games were in Cincinnati. The last two postseasons, the Bengals went to Houston as a 4-point underdog. They lost 31-10 two Januarys ago and 19-13 last January.

Bad Andy: Is Dalton the least impressive of the 12 quarterbacks in the playoffs? His 20 interceptions are the most in the group, well ahead of Carolina’s Cam Newton with 13. Dalton’s interception rate of 3.4 percent is also the worst, followed by Newton’s 2.7. Dalton’s two-game playoff ledger shows four interceptions, zero touchdown passes and a 48.6 passer rating.

Good Andy: Dalton threw 33 touchdown passes in 2013. That’s one more than Philip Rivers, and trails only two other passers in this postseason, Peyton Manning (55) and Drew Brees (39). The Bengals are 30-18 in regular-season games started by Dalton, who hasn't missed a game in his three seasons. Dalton, mobile enough to keep defenders honest, rushed for two TDs this year and gains 3.0 per carry.

Trouble for Chargers: Green, the lead receiver, is the No. 1 matchup problem for most opponents and is both faster and taller than any Chargers defensive back. In Cincinnati’s victory on Dec. 1, Green ran away from Shareece Wright to catch a sideline pass, launching a key late drive. Also, he outran Chargers defenders who had a running start on him after he caught a screen pass. Green’s threat, short and long, may have led San Diego to overplay the pass, assisting a Bengals ground game that amassed 164 yards. Wright, the fastest Chargers defender, was listed on recent injury reports with a foot injury and didn’t seem at full speed last Sunday against the Chiefs.

Trouble for the Bengals: Dalton is giving opponents chances to make plays, as he did versus the Chargers on Dec. 1. Last Sunday he threw four interceptions, one into the end zone after changing the play to a pass. Lewis probably would've welcomed a bye week, given the team's health, but the Patriots (12-4) prevented it by beating the Bills last Sunday. Four Bengals starting offensive linemen didn't practice this Wednesday..